Audible, Noble Indy Work for Pletcher

Audible, the second of the two to breeze, went a half-mile in :48.74 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:02.22 while working alongside the 4-year-old stakes winner You're To Blame. It was Audible's first work since winning the Florida Derby on March 31.

“For him I thought it was outstanding,” Pletcher said. “He's not always an overzealous work horse, but today he seemed on his game and focused. I thought he did very well. He's coming back in five weeks off a 1 1/8 mile race, so I think we're just trying to have him peak on the day and keep him fit without overdoing it. I thought this morning was an important step in that direction. I know sometimes he doesn't work as well as others, but leading up to this race you'd like all three of his works to be good, and the first one was excellent.”

About 30 minutes earlier, Pletcher watched Louisiana Derby winner Noble Indy work five furlongs in 1:01.19, his second move since he raced in New Orleans with blinkers for the first time.

“It was a good, solid five-eighths,” Pletcher said. “He's never been a horse that's a fantastic gallop-out horse, but I think today was solid.” Pletcher said added the blinkers to “keep him a little more in tune, a little more focused.”

Pletcher has four horses preparing for the Kentucky Derby. Along with Audible and Noble Indy, he trains Vino Rosso, who won the Wood Memorial last weekend, and Rebel winner Magnum Moon, who runs Saturday in the Arkansas Derby.

Pletcher said his current plan is to work Audible, Noble Indy and Vino Rosso next weekend before shipping to Kentucky on April 23.

“To me it's always really key who handles the Churchill surface,” Pletcher said “It can be pretty quirky, so I think that final breeze at Churchill will give us a big clue as to who likes it. Hopefully they all do. That's always one of my concerns because you see some horses who get there and don't get a grip of that track. So I think the final work there will be something we're looking forward to seeing.

“The good thing about the group of horses we have going is they have run over all kinds of dirt surfaces….none of them appear to be horses that need a certain surface in order to be successful.”